2011 has been great so far. It's definitely not
awesome though. It is great in comparison
to 2006 to 2009 which was emotionally
bad for me.

The best thing is that finally I do not have to work
on Friday this year. Ironically, Friday was
the busiest day of the week in the last
few years.

I lost quite a sum of $$$ in the stock market
back then and had to work harder
to earn the $$$ back.

Sometime we wish that we don't have to
sacrifice a lot to achieve something. The training
in the lab and the stock market for the past
few years were rather painful.

In the past months, I was clubbing with my friends
& I realised my energy is still there. Or rather, it
is back. I was still very much alive at 3 am.
I can't remember the last time I went clubbing, but
clubbing on Friday is awesome.

On one of the Friday night, those people
from the neighbouring tables were
very friendly. Although, I do make
friends with pple while clubbing,
this was the first time in Singapore
that I experience so much interaction.

I think gg to the club is for me a bit like
eating something very exquisite.
Everytime you eat, you seem to
enjoy it more, yet you do
not want to eat it everyday
& ruin the whole
experience.

These days I really feel that my life which
has gone away for the past few years
is coming back. Sometimes, I just
smile at myself & wonder whether
can I also have some of my hair
back.

__________________________________

My job search has not been particularly
fruitful, cuz I have only sent in
three applications.

The need to go back to lab to wrap up
some of my work for publication has
hampered my job search. Hopefully,
by end August, I can truly
focus on my job
search.

Research is probably my last choice. If you
pulled a gun at me, then I will probably
do it. But if I have a choice, nope.

I have too many bad memories of research.
It is said that obstacles help to strengthen
to one soul, but it also takes the gross
away off a lot of things.


Nightmare #1:


When you have 96 wells to add things into, it
can be quite a challenge when you are new
to it. The difficultly is that each well might
be different from the next. So you
have to be extra careful and
not mix things up. For me,
who can't really sit
still, it was quite
a big challenge.

Nightmare #2:


This is the plastic container that everyone
used to grow their cells. I don't know
whether they look cheap, but they
are not cheap. The red liquid
you see in the flask are not
cheap as well. For sure, they
are more expensive than
Gatorade or Red Bull.
I think they are at least
13 times more expensive.

Growing cells is more tedious than
having a pet. The 'food' they eat
is not cheap to begin and they
seriously can't take care of
themselves. When the bacteria
start to grow with them, you
can start crying as you ditch
your cells and your weeks of
nurturing.


Nightmare 3:

This is the equipment that you see whenever
you see a picture of a scientist. They are used
to pick up small volume of reagent, like one
tiny drop of liquid.

When you used it hundreds of time everyday,
you start to detest it even though it brings
you much convenience as compared to the
old days.

Whenever I look at the classified and saw postings for lab
jobs, I will think about all these nightmares
and reckon that the grass is probably greener on
the other side.

But that said, research is seriously not all bad.
A lot of things in life is not about its pros
& cons but rather whether you
can derive meaning or fun from
doing it.

If you can't, then what is the point?

_____________________________________

On July 23, I finally watched a korean movie which
I wanted to watch it so much in the past.

Sometimes when you stop looking & wishing
for something, thing actually happen. This
time round, I finally get to watch it, after
so many years.


Peppermint candy is really a very good
film. It is as good as what I read in
a review, perhaps even better.

Watching it leaves me feeling poignant
and doleful. If someone was to undergo
a mid-life crisis, I reckon he will identify
much with Peppermint candy.

I'm not in one though but I was thinking
about how tragic it was when a mistake
that one commits continue to come
back and haunt oneself.

I think the film will remain with me for a long,
long time. I just hope I won't have the
ending of the male protagonist!

________________________________________

Some of my friends have this craze for travelling.
Back in 2004, I have this super craze as well.
I traveled to loads of countries in Europe
during my exchange & that is how
I got rid of my addiction to travelling.

For me the way to get rid of an addiction is
to do it repeatedly until you are exhausted.

I think this idea of mine is flawed.

If it is this simple, smokers will find it easier
to quit. I don't know for sure, just thinking.

It works for me for most part of my life
except for romance. Romance is
a dangerous pill for me because
the stop button doesn't work
all the time.

When it stops, it hurts terribly. I just
acted as though it doesn't hurt. I
think the one who appears nonchalant
is often the one who is most
concerned.

As for travelling, I only have 2 places that
I am super keen to go. Ibiza and South
America.

The cheapest air tickets to South America
is Qatar Airways which is if I'm not
wrong $1600. That is really a good
deal considering that Qatar Airways
was ranked first in the 2011 SKYTRAX
ranking.

In term of money spent/happiness ratio,
for me clubbing or going to the concert
ranks higher.

I do like travelling though but it is an
extremely expensive hobby or if
you called it, habbit.

As for Ibiza, this is one of the place I wished
to visit in my early 30s.


I think the beach, party and the ambience
will make the long trip to party paradise
worthwhile.

_________________________________________